Planning and Control Issues in Project Management - Coursework Example

?Exercise # 5 Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question Data: The equipment of the company installs in the following time durations: The best case = 12 hours, The worst case = 18 hours, The most typical case = 14 hours Part A: Expected Time = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected Time = (12 + 4 * (14) + 18) / 6; Expected Time = 14.33 hours Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = (18 – 12) / 6; Standard Deviation = 1; Part C: The part A of the question presents that the expected time of installing the equipment in the company is 14.33 hours, however, there were three parameters estimated to identify the expected time of the activity or project. On the other hand, Standard Deviation has been calculated in the part B of the question which is equivalent to one (1). It presents that the actual duration of the activity or project may be equivalent to the expected time plus/minus standard deviation (14.33 +/- 1). After completing the both parts provide a range of possible duration of the equipment installation activity that is the activity can be completed minimum of 13.33 hours and maximum in 15.33 hours. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 2 Data: The cost for design phase of the software development is as follows: The best case / lowest cost = $35,000, The worst case / highest cost = $60,000, The most typical case / likely cost = $44,000 Part A: Expected Cost = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected Cost = ($35,000 + 4 * ($44,000) + $60,000) / 6; Expected Cost = $45,166.67 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = ($60,000 – $35,000) / 6; Standard Deviation = $4,166.67; Part C: The part A of the question presents that the expected cost of the developing software application in the design phase which is equivalent to the $45,166.67. In order to calculate the expected cost there were three parameters / costs estimated include: the lowest cost, highest cost and most typical cost. On the other hand, Standard Deviation has been calculated in the part B of the question which is equivalent to $4,166.67. It presents the actual cost of the design phase of the project may be equivalent to the expected cost plus/minus standard deviation ($45,166.67 +/- $4,166.67). After completing the both parts provide a range of possible cost of the design phase that is from $41,000.00/- to $49,333.33/-. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 3 Data: From the previous records, the following numbers of carpenters are required to complete the job: The best case / fewer number of carpenters = 4 carpenters, The worst case / largest number of carpenters = 9 carpenters, The most typical case / likely number of carpenters = 6 carpenters Part A: Expected number of carpenters = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = (4 + 4 * (6) + 9) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = 6.17 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = (9 – 4) / 6; Standard Deviation = 0.83; Part C: The part A of the question presents the expected number of carpenters required to complete the job and after applying the formula of PERT beta the calculated value is 6.17. In the part B of the question the standard deviation of the expected number of carpenters is calculated that is equivalent to 0.83. After subtracting and adding the value of standard deviation from / to the expected number of carpenters, the resulting value would provide us the estimated number of carpenters required to complete the job and the range is from 5.34 to 7 carpenters. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 4 – Dangers allied with PERT Technique The utilization of PERT technique involves several dangers and risks that include but are not limited to the following: The PERT technique becomes complicated when dealing with large projects with hundreds or thousands of activities, therefore, it becomes difficult to maintain and update the PERT chart. As the PERT technique depends on the predictions, therefore, there are enormous chances that these predictions become inaccurate. The PERT technique works best in only those projects which can be relied on previous experience to make accurate predictions. It is difficult to scale the PERT technique for smaller projects. The PER technique involves mathematical calculations and any mistake can lead to raise many problems. Question # 5 – Technique to Estimate Task Duration, Cost and / or Human Resources The logic network is a project management tool that emphasizes on sequencing the activities of the project to determine the project duration, cost and the human resources required to complete the project. In this technique, the project manager needs to identify the activities, the predecessors and successor relationship of the activities, the duration of each activity, the forward and backward pass, the activity float (or slack) and ultimately determining the critical path of the project by identifying the longest project path. The project manager can assign cost and human resources to all the identified activities, therefore, the project manager can easily calculate the total cost and all the human resources required to complete the project within the identified time frame. Question # 6 – Advantages of Relying three Parameters in PERT The PERT technique relies on the three parameters (minimum, most likely and maximum) identified by the experts based on their past experiences. One of the main advantages of relying on three parameters provide a range of time duration or cost or human resources for an individual activity, therefore, these parameters can easily be guessed by the experts. Moreover, if by any means one of the guessed parameters becomes wrong or inaccurate would not affect the final calculations badly. Exercise 6.1, Question # 1, Work Breakdown Structure – Product Oriented 1. Wireless Access Points 1.1. Hardware and Software 1.1.1. Server 1.1.2. WAP Devices 1.1.3. Firewalls 1.1.4. Routers / Switch 1.1.5. Operating Systems 1.1.6. Computer / Laptops 1.2. Network Design 1.2.1. Internet Access 1.2.2. Site Connectivity 1.2.3. Network Security Design 1.2.4. IP Configuration 1.3. Installation 1.3.1. Hardware deployment at site 1.3.2. Software installation 1.3.3. Network development 1.4. Testing 1.4.1. Network Node Testing 1.4.2. Network Performance 1.4.3. Network Range 1.5. Demonstration and Maintenance 1.5.1. Demo to Employees / Training 1.5.2. Final Report 1.5.3. Help Desk Support 1. Exercise 6.1, Question # 2, Work Breakdown Structure – Task Oriented 1. Wireless Access Points 1.1. Initiation 1.1.1. Business Case 1.1.2. Appointment of team 1.1.3. Setting up Project Office 1.2. Planning 1.2.1. Project Plan 1.2.2. Procurement Plan 1.2.3. Quality Plan 1.2.4. Risk Management Plan 1.3. Execution 1.3.1. Procurement 1.3.2. Installation 1.3.3. Testing 1.4. Monitoring and Control 1.4.1. Scope Management 1.4.2. Performance Reporting 1.4.3. Control Schedule 1.4.4. Control Costs 1.4.5. Monitor and Control Risks 1.5. Trainings 1.5.1. Schedule Training 1.5.2. Develop Training Contents 1.5.3. Develop SOPs 1.6. Closing 1.6.1. Lesson Learnt Report 1.6.2. Close Procurements 1.6.3. Maintenance and Support 1.6.4. Develop Maintenance Plan 1.6.5. Project Closure Report Exercise 6.1, Question # 3, Work Breakdown Structure The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the work that is required to be completed by the project team in order to achieve the project objectives. There are various benefits of using the WBS by the project manager that include but not limited to determining the scope of the project, the assigning human resources to the deliverables, monitoring of the project deliverables, it allows managing accurately the cost, time and risks of the project. Furthermore, while developing WBS it should be kept in mind that the micro-level work packages should not be represented as it would be difficult to manage for the project manager, it is required to only mention the deliverables rather activities and the WBS cannot replace the Gantt chart. In order to develop the WBS, the project manager is required to have deliverables like the project scope document / statement, knowledge of the organizational processes and templates of the WBS used by the organization. By utilizing the above given information the project manager would be able present the WBS along with its dictionary, the baseline of the project scope and the changes requested in the scope of the project (Mathis, 2011). Exercise 6.1, Question # 4, Product Oriented vs. Task Oriented WBS The Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) is either tabular or graphical representation tool used to define the clear and precise elements of a project. Particularly, the PBS is used in project planning based on the products and it is specifically used in project management standard of PRINCE2 (Project in Controlled Environment). The PBS is specifically used for large projects having a huge number of products or project deliverables so that any deliverable of the project could not be ignored along with the activities required to achieve the deliverable. The PBS focuses on the product’s elements and sub-elements, whereas, the work breakdown structure (WBS) presents the work packages along with the resources and a completion time of these work packages. The advantages of the PBS include: it facilitates to identify the elements and sub-elements that are required to complete the product and it ensures that all the elements of the product has been highlighted. The disadvantages of the PBS include: it does not present the resources and cost required to complete the project, moreover, it does not facilitate identifying the scope of the project. On the other hand, the disadvantages of the PBS are the advantages of the WBS that include: it facilitates to identify the scope, time and cost of the project. As compared to the PBS, the WBS does not present the elements of the project. Exercise 7.1, Question # 1, Poor Man’s Hierarchy The Poor Man’s Hierarchy is used to prioritize the requirements of the project or features of the product. In the case study, I need to prioritize the features of a dishwasher using the Poor Man’s Hierarchy and the features have been identified by the focus group (Taylor, 2006). The following table shows the Poor Man’s Hierarchy method of prioritizing the features: - Standard Dishwashing Super Hot No Noise Remote Control Voice Synthesizer Total Standard Dishwashing - 1 1 1 1 4 Super Hot 1 - 0 0 0 1 No Noise 1 0 - 1 1 3 Remote Control 1 0 1 - 0 2 Voice Synthesizer 1 0 1 0 - 2 From the above table, it has been identified that the feature of standard dishwashing is the most important, whereas, the feature of the super hot is the least important feature of the dishwasher required by the modern kitchen appliance company. Exercise 8.1 – Cost Benefit Analysis Question # 1 – The Cost-Benefit Ratio   System A System B Purchase Price 2,300,000 1,600,000 Conversion Cost 325,000 300,000 Annual Maintenance 275,000 200,000 5 Years Maintenance Cost 1,375,000 1,000,000   System A System B Total Cost for 5 years 4,000,000 2,900,000 Total Savings for 5 years 4,100,000 2,700,000 Cost-Benefit Ratio 0.97561 1.07407 It is evident from the above analysis that the system A is a better choice as compared to the system B. Exercise 8.1 – Cost Benefit Analysis Question # 2 – Financial Prospective to Abandon the current MIS The current Management Information System (MIS) of the Perk Crest hospital is more than seven (7) years old and does not fulfil the requirements of the management. The current MIS does not support to access, view and edit / update the past records of the patient, as it is limited to determining the existing / present records of the patient. In these days, there exists a huge number of technologies that support the fast storage and retrieval of not only the present data but also the past data of the patients and employees. Therefore, I believe that the management of the Perk Crest hospital should adopt the new system and abandon the current or existing MIS. Furthermore, as per the cost-benefit analysis of the proposed system, the management of the Perk Crest hospital would recover their investment on the MIS within the five (5) years. Therefore, I suggest upgrading the existing MIS as it is also financially beneficial for the Perk Crest hospital. Exercise 8.1 – Cost Benefit Analysis Question # 3 – Financial Point of View of System A or B It has been identified from the data contained in the exhibit that the total cost of purchasing and five (5) years maintenance of the System A is 4,000,000/- and the cost of System B is 2,900,000/-. It is clear that the cost of System B is much lesser than the cost of System A. But in order select one of the two systems it is required to consider the benefits of each system. As per data given in the exhibit the benefits / savings of five years for adopting the System A is 4,100,000/- and System B is 2,700,000/-. The System A not only returns the investment in five (5) years but also saves an amount of 100,000/-, whereas, the System B would not able to return even investment after five (5) years. Keeping in view the cost and benefits of each system, it is obvious that the benefits of System A are higher than the System B. Therefore, I would suggest adopting the System A as compared to the System B. Exercise 8.1 – Cost Benefit Analysis Question # 4 – Limitations of Financial Approach In order to select a system the hospital cannot rely on the financial approach only, however, the management of the hospital needs to consider the technical aspects of the Management Information System as well. The financial approach does not cater the technical aspects like the technology, computer language, the hardware and software requirements, and the compatibility issues. Exercise 8.2 – Schedule-Cost-Resources Exercise Question # 1 – Network Diagram Exercise 8.2 – Schedule-Cost-Resources Exercise Question # 2 – Early Start, Late Start and Free Slack or Float Exercise 8.2 – Schedule-Cost-Resources Exercise Question # 3 – Gantt chart Exercise 8.2 – Schedule-Cost-Resources Exercise Question # 4 – Table Calculations Tasks Duration (weeks) Human Resource Position Cost / Week Level of Effort Labour Cost Material Cost Total Cost A 4 2 Designer $1,600 56 $12,800 $1,000 $13,800 B 2 2 Programmer $1,200 28 $4,800 $2,000 $6,800 C 4 1 Programmer $1,200 28 $4,800 $2,000 $6,800 D 1 2 Tester $1,000 14 $2,000 $1,000 $3,000 E 3 1 Tester $1,000 21 $3,000 $2,000 $5,000 F 3 2 Integrator $1,800 42 $10,800 $1,000 $11,800 Total 12 Weeks 8 HR $7,800 189 $38,200 $9,000 $47,200 Exercise 8.2 – Schedule-Cost-Resources Exercise Question # 5 – Levelling Activities D & E From the Gantt chart it has been identified that the activity D is a non-critical activity with a slack or float of 14 days, whereas, the activity E is a critical activity with zero float, moreover, both the activities are parallel to each other. If the company has only two testers then the non-critical activity D would also become the critical activity and the total duration of the project would be increased by seven (7) days. Exercise 9.1 – Getting Project Back on Schedule Question # 1 – Crashing a Schedule In project management, the concept of crashing is used to reduce the total duration of the project by putting more human resources or / and bearing additional cost. Usually, we crash the project duration when we are behind the planned schedule, therefore, in order to get back on the schedule we put additional human resources or manage the resources work overtime; therefore, we need to bear additional cost of these resources. It may not be effective to add more resources to the non-critical activities, as we need to reduce the total duration of the project; therefore, we need to add resources to the critical activities so that the critical path may be reduced. As the critical path represents the total duration of the project, once the critical path reduced effectively, the total duration of the project would be reduced (Adeak, 2010). Question # 2 – Mitigating the ill-effects of Crashing Some vital disadvantages or ill-effects of the crashing are to bear more cost, compromising product quality and it is not sure whether the additional hired employees are trained enough to understand the project quickly. Some of the ill-effects of the crashing cannot be mitigated like the additional cost; however, a mitigation plan can be developed to manage the quality of the product and additional human resources. Training for additional human resources can be added to the mitigation plan so that the additional human resources can start working on the project as quickly as possible without delaying the project. Exercise 9.1 – Getting Project Back on Schedule Question # 3 – Fast Tracking The fast tracking is another way of compressing or reducing the total duration of the project to meet the deadlines or getting the project back on the schedule. In the fast tracking technique, the project managers need to reschedule the sequence of the activities or change the activities from sequential order to the parallel or partially parallel activities. The technique of fast tracking can further be explained by elaborating the real world example. In the waterfall software development process, we implemented fast tracking as before completion of the design phase of the software we start working on the coding or implementation phase of the project. In this way, the coding phase started in parallel to the design phase but in actual both phases are in sequential order. Question # 4 – Relation between Fast Tracking and Risk As the fast tracking technique entails starting the successor activity before finishing the predecessor activity, therefore, it involves several risks include: the vulnerability to make mistakes, the opportunity to rework and increase in duration of the project rather decreasing. Keeping in view the above example, the coding is being started before finalizing the design of the software application, what if, the final design deviates from the initial design. In this case, the programmers need to rework / recode the software application, hence, it would enhance the duration of the project. However, the activities are managed appropriately these risks can be avoided and benefits can be taken by utilizing the technique. Exercise 10.1 – Getting Project Back on Schedule Question # 1 – Schedule Variance Tasks Budget Actual Cost (ACWP) BCWP (Earned Value) BCWS (Planned Value) SV=EV-PV A 30,000 32,000 30000 32,000 -2,000 B 40,000 44,000 40000 44,000 -4,000 C 20,000 20,000 20000 20,000 0 D 30,000 16,000 30000 16,000 14,000 E 30,000 32,000 30000 32,000 -2,000 F 40,000 G 20,000 18,000 20000 18,000 2,000 210,000 162,000 210000 162,000 48,000 Question # 2 – Cost Variance Tasks Budget Actual Cost (ACWP) BCWP (Earned Value) CV=EV-AC A 30,000 32,000 30000 -2,000 B 40,000 44,000 40000 -4,000 C 20,000 20,000 20000 0 D 30,000 16,000 30000 14,000 E 30,000 32,000 30000 -2,000 F 40,000 G 20,000 18,000 20000 2,000 210,000 162,000 210000 48,000 Question # 3 – Cost Performance Index Tasks Budget Actual Cost (ACWP) BCWP (Earned Value) BCWS (Planned Value) CPI=EV/AC A 30,000 32,000 30000 32,000 0.94 B 40,000 44,000 40000 44,000 0.91 C 20,000 20,000 20000 20,000 1.00 D 30,000 16,000 30000 16,000 1.88 E 30,000 32,000 30000 32,000 0.94 F 40,000 G 20,000 18,000 20000 18,000 1.11 210,000 162,000 210000 162,000 1.30 Question # 4 – Schedule Performance Index Tasks BCWP (Earned Value) BCWS (Planned Value) SPI=EV/PV A 30000 32,000 0.9375 B 40000 44,000 0.909091 C 20000 20,000 1 D 30000 16,000 1.875 E 30000 32,000 0.9375 F G 20000 18,000 1.111111 210000 162,000 1.296296 Question # 5 – Estimate at Completion Following formula would be used to calculate the estimate at completion (EAC): EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) Actual Cost (AC) = $162,000/- Budget at Completion (BAC) = $600,000/- Earned Value (EV) = $210,000/- EAC = 162,000 + (600,000 – 210,000) EAC= $552,000/- Question # 6 – Description of Cost and Schedule After applying the Earned Value Management (EVM) principals, I have identified the values of cost variance, schedule variance, cost performance index, schedule performance index and estimate at completion. After reviewing and assessing the identified values it has been observed that in the reporting month some activities like A, B and E are over budgeted and schedule. However, the activity C is perfectly completed within the identified budget. The activities D and E have been started but not yet completed. And the activity F has not been started on the day of reporting month. It has been estimated that the project would not be completed within the estimated budget and time. Therefore, the company needs to identify their priority either cost or schedule. If the company wants to complete the project within specified timelines, then the project manager needs to implement the techniques of either Fast Tracking or Crashing. Assignment # 1 – Project to Arrange for Conference Question # 1 – Expected Time and Standard Deviation   Schedule Mode Best Case Most Typical Case Worst Case Expected Time Standard Deviation   A B C E = (A + 4B + C)/6 SD = (C-A) / 6 ID speaker topics ASAP 1 2 4 2.17 0.5 Contact speakers ASAP 8 9 11 9.17 0.5 Select Hotel ASAP 4 5 7 5.17 0.5 Arrange Hotel Accommodation ASAP 2 3 4 3 0.33 Arrange Caterings ASAP 4 5 7 5.17 0.5 Develop Brochure ASAP 7 9 12 9.17 0.83 Print and Mail Brochure ASAP 4 5 8 5.33 0.67 Develop exhibit material ASAP 10 12 15 12.17 0.83 Develop Workbook ASAP 4 5 7 5.17 0.5 Print and Bind Workbook ASAP 3 4 6 4.17 0.5 Final Setup for Conference ALAP 2 3 5 3.17 0.5 63.83 6.17 Assignment # 1 – Project to Arrange for Conference Question # 2 – Project Duration It has been identified from the table above that the estimated completion time of the project is sixty four (64) days. It has been calculated by adding the expected time of completion of each activity. The expected time of each activity has been calculated by using the formula: the best case + 4 (the typical case) + the worst case and divided by six. Question # 3 – Standard Deviation of Critical Path It has been identified from the table above that the standard deviation of the critical path or total duration of the project is 6.14. It has been calculated by adding the standard deviation of the each activity. The standard deviation of the each activity has been calculated by using the formula: the worst case – the best case and divided by six (6). Question # 4 – Project Duration after addition of 1? and 2? Expected Time Standard Deviation Plus 1? Plus 2? E = (A + 4B + C) / 6 SD = (C-A) / 6 1? = E + 1 * SD 2? = E + 2 * SD ID speaker topics 2.17 0.50 2.67 3.17 Contact speakers 9.17 0.50 9.67 10.17 Select Hotel 5.17 0.50 5.67 6.17 Arrange Accommodation 3.00 0.33 3.33 3.67 Arrange Caterings 5.17 0.50 5.67 6.17 Develop Brochure 9.17 0.83 10.00 10.83 Print and Mail Brochure 5.33 0.67 6.00 6.67 Develop exhibit material 12.17 0.83 13.00 13.83 Develop Workbook 5.17 0.50 5.67 6.17 Print and Bind Workbook 4.17 0.50 4.67 5.17 Final Setup for Conference 3.17 0.50 3.67 4.17   63.83 6.17 70.00 76.17 Assignment # 1 – Project to Arrange for Conference Question # 5 – Latest Start, Earliest Start and Float of the Project It has been assumed that the project starts on 14th January 2013; moreover, the expected duration of the each activity has been rounded up i-e the duration 2.2 is rounded as 2.0 days. S. No. Activities Expected Duration Latest Start Early Start Float 1 ID speaker topics 2.2 Monday, January 14, 2013 Tuesday, January 15, 2013 0 days 2 Contact speakers 9.2 Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Monday, January 28, 2013 0 days 3 Select Hotel 5.2 Monday, January 14, 2013 Friday, January 18, 2013 3 days 4 Arrange Hotel Accommodation 3.0 Monday, January 21, 2013 Wednesday, January 23, 2013 3 days 5 Arrange Caterings 5.2 Thursday, January 24, 2013 Wednesday, January 30, 2013 6 days 6 Develop Brochure 9.2 Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Friday, February 08, 2013 0 days 7 Print and Mail Brochure 5.3 Monday, February 11, 2013 Friday, February 15, 2013 0 days 8 Develop exhibit material 12.2 Thursday, January 31, 2013 Friday, February 15, 2013 6 days 9 Develop Workbook 5.2 Monday, February 18, 2013 Friday, February 22, 2013 0 days 10 Print and Bind Workbook 4.2 Monday, February 25, 2013 Thursday, February 28, 2013 0 days 11 Final Setup for Conference 3.2 Monday, February 18, 2013 Wednesday, February 20, 2013 6 days Assignment # 1 – Project to Arrange for Conference Question # 6 – Re-arrangement of PERT / CPM As per the scenario given in the question that if we re-arrange the two activities “Develop Workbook” and “Print Workbook” by making their predecessor activity number 1 or “ID Speaker Topic”, the duration of the project would be decreased by 6 days. It is pertinent to mention here that the critical path of the project is totally updated i-e the non-critical activities of the project became the critical activities as well as the critical activities of the project became the non-critical activities of the project. After rearranging the two activities the updated activities on the critical path of the project include: the Select Hotel, Arrange Hotel Accommodation, Arrange Catering, Develop Exhibit Material, and final setting-up conference. Works Cited Mathis, M. Work Breakdown Structure: Purpose, Process and Pitfalls. 2011. Web. 4 January 2013 Taylor, J. A Survival Guide for Project Managers – 2nd Edition. American Management Association. New York. 2006. Print Adeak. What is Crashing and Fast Tracking a Schedule? 2010. Web. 5 January 2013 Read More